la chance



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

w. W. LA' CHANCE. CELL DOOR OPERATING DEVICE.

No. 508,026. Patented Nov. {7, 1893.

Ooooo00ooooooooo o o o Q! H o z: m o

'1 oooooo ooo'ooooooo T-l" 6 Q 7.0 1.0 5 6 C))OOOOC)G)OO000000000 '2' A A 0 m x Z n-. El

I H =3 N wfmaasaa 11W NTQR (No Model.)

2Sheets-Sheet 2. W. W. LA CHANCE. CELL DOOR OPERATING DEVIGE.

Patented'Nov. 7, 1893.

uoaflnuobnu \Mmiaam dkkm.

THE unlomu. LI? HGGRAPNING coMPANv,

WASHINGTON, a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.

WALTER w. LA CHANCE, OFIOLEVELAND, OHIO, AssIeNoRoF ONE-HALF TO T. M. FOUTS, OF SAME PLACE.

CELL-DOOR-QPERATING DEVICE.

SPEGIFIGATIONpforming part of Letters Patent No. 508,026, dated November '7, 1 893.

Application filed May 19,1893.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER W. LA CHANCE, a citlzen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looking Devices for Cell-Doors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention consists of a reciprocating bar havlng one or more cell doors suspended therefrom by hangers and rolls and a corresponding number of springs and lever actuated latches, for locking said doors when closed; said bar being operated by means of worm-gears and pinions.

The object of myimprovement is to provide a device for closing and locking or unlocking and opening, either singly'or all together, any number of cell doors, without entering the corridor where the cells are located.

My locking device canbe operated j with ease and expedition, from the guard-room of the prison by one person, who thereby avoids all contact with the prisoners. The .apparatus is simple in construction and operation, but efiective, since it is beyond the power'of a man unaided to force open from the inside a cell door secured with my device.

That my invention may be seen and fully understood by others, reference will be had to the following specification and annexed drawings forming a part thereof,-in which- Fignre 1 is aside elevation of my locking device showing it in connection with two cell doors; Fig. 2, ahorizontal sectional view on line Z, Z, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a vertical, sectionalview on line X, X, Fig. 4; Fig. 4, an enlarged side elevation of the reciprocating bar and latch mechanism, with aportion of a cell door suspended from said bar; Fig. 5, a perspective view of one of the dogs and Fig. 6, a perspective view of the whole device showing it in connection with three doors, two of said doors being open and the other closed.

Similar letters of reference designate like parts in the drawings and specification.

The reciprocating bar A, Figs. 1, 3, 4. and 6, passes over the cell doors B and rests upon the rolls 0, Figs. 1 and 6, said rolls being at Figs-1, 2 and 6.

Serial No, 474,829. (No model.)

- tached to the outside wall D of the cells by the pins 0. The bar A terminates at one end in the rack A which projects into the closet E, Figs; 1, 2 and 6, to engage with the pinion F, Figs. 1 and 6. The pinion F is fast on the shaft F, the bearings of said shaft being bolted or otherwise secured to-opposite sides of the closet E. Above the rack A and the pinion F is the roll G,,Figs. 1 and 6,, on

theshaft G. The shaft G also has its bearings secured to opposite sides of the closet E, and the roll G holds the rack A down on the pinion F. The dogs H, Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6, are bolted to the bar A, at intervals, for the purpose hereinafter described. The doors B are suspended from the bar A by the hangers I, Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 6. Each hanger I is provided with'two rolls J which bear upon the top or upper edge of the bar A. The hanger I is of essentially the form shown in the drawings and has the lugs 1 depending be hind the bar A. The door B is securely attached to the lower terminals of the hanger lugsl. Projecting from the edge nearest the closet E, of each door B at the top,-is the notched bar I). "The doors B are provided with the handles B by means of which any one of said doors may be closed from the cell corridor. The doors B are prevented from swinging forward at thebottom, by the stirp K,

I The vertical shaft L,'Figs.1, 2 and 6, rests in the bearing M, at the base and is secured near'the top by the horizontal hanger M.. The bearing M, is fastened to the door of the closet E and the hanger M to one side of said closet. About midway on the shaft L is the worm-gear L and above the hanger M is the worm-gear L The horizontal shaft N, Figs. 1, 2 and 6, with its bearings secured to the sides of the closet E, has attached thereto the pinion O- meshing with the worm-gear L, and the hand-wheel P by means of which said shaft and pinion are rotated. The upper worm-gear L meshes with the pinion F on the shaft F. The door E of the closet E opens into the guard-room of the prison or other convenient place.

Between the top of each door'B and the closet E is the latch Q, Figs. 1, 4 and 6, pivoted at Q to the wall D. The latch Q, consists of a vertical and a notched, horizon-' tal arm as best shown in Fig. 4. The spiral spring R is fastened to the wall D above the bar A, and to the vertical arm of the latch Q for the purpose of retaining said latch in its normal position. The notched arm of the latch Q is adapted to engage the notched bar I) of the door 13, when said door is closed, and 1 when so engaged prevents the door from be ing opened by any person within the cell. Before engaging with the latch Q, each of the rod S is pivotally connected to the top of the vertical arm of each latch Q and extends through the supporting brackets '1 into the closet E. In the closet E are the levers U, Figs. 1, 2 and 6, pivoted .to the bracket V which is attached to the side of said closet, said levers terminating at the bottom, in the handles U. The leversU correspond in number to the rods S and are pivotally connected with the ends of said rods.

In operation, the doors B beingclosed as represented in Fig. 1, one or more of the lever handles U (according to the number of said doors which it is desired to open), are drawn away from the side of the closet E by aperson within said closet, and the upper ends of the levers U force back the rods S, overcome the resiliency of the springs R, rock the latches Q and release the notched arms of said latches from the notched bars b. New revolve the handwheel P in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 1, and the bar A will be moved in the direction of the arrow 2, Fig. 1, through the medium of the vertical shaft L, with the wormgears L and L thereon, and the pinions O and F. Since thedoorsB are suspended from the bar A it will be seen that they must travel with said bar, it free from the latches Q, while said bar readily passes beneath the hanger rolls J of the doors which have not been released. The dogs H, on the bar A, are adapted to engage with the edges of the doors B, opposite the bars I), and, by reversing the motion of the hand-wheel P, said bar and dogs will draw said doors over their respective openings until the notched bars I) engage with the notched arms of the latches Q when the cells are again securely closed What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a locking device for cell doors, a recip- ;rocating bar terminating atone end in a rack and supported by rolls above one or more doors, said doors depending from said bar, 1n combination with the pinion F meshing with said rack, the roll G, a vertical shaft provided with two worm-gears, the upper of said wormgears meshing with said pinion F, the p1n1on O on the shaft N meshing with the lower worm-gear and a hand-wheel for revolvlng said shaft N, in the mannerisnbstantia-lly as and for the purpose set-forth.

2.. In a locking device for cell doors,one or more latches -Q,-corresp.onding in numberto the doors, said latches pivoted to the front wall of the cell's and adapted .to engage and hold the notched bars I) rigidly attached .to

said doors and springs arranged to retain said latches in their norma'lpositions, in combination with a like numberof rods and levers for rocking said latches from a distance, in the manner substantially as and for the pnrpose set forth.

3. In a locking device for cell doors, a rack terminating, reciprocating bar having dogs attached thereto, supported by rolls and supporting one or more doors by hangers and rolls, said rolls bearing on the upper edge of said bar, said doors provided with the notched bars 1) and bolts 12, thestrip K, stops D and the bar actuating mechanism in the closet E, in combination with a corresponding number of latches to said doors, the springs and rods attached to said latches, said rods passing through supporting brackets and into said closet and the levers U pivoted within the closet and provided with handles below the pivotal points, in the manner substantially .as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER W. LA CHANCE.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, O. X. SCHLANDECKER. 

